


Taking Care

by Meraad



Series: Felled by You (Cullen/Cadash) [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 23:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18292259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meraad/pseuds/Meraad
Summary: An unexpected tender moment for Cullen and Renna Cadash





	Taking Care

Renna sat on the edge of the chair in her small cabin rubbing lotion over her legs. Vetiver and oakmoss and a hint of sweet honeysuckle. The lotion had been a gift from Vivienne and Renna was grateful. The knock on the door had her stilling, hands on her thigh. It was late enough that someone at her door was cause for concern. Pursing her lips, she padded across the room and slid back the latch before opening the door.

Cullen stood on the other side of the door and Renna felt her heart skip a beat or two. His hair was damp, a stray curl falling over his forehead, and he didn’t wear his usual armor. Instead, he wore a simple tunic and trousers. “Cullen?” she asked, still concerned that something might be wrong.

“Maker,” he breathed out and she remembered her state of undress. The tunic was one of her nicer ones, thin, delicate material that hung nicely over the softness of her curves. It had been a gift from some Orlesian noble. Meant to be shown off. Instead, she wore the pretty shirt to bed. The same pale pink of a rose with an intricate detail of lace bordered the collar, the sleeves, and the bottom hem. It was likely the most expensive thing she’d ever worn, even more so than all her armor and weapons combined.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, rubbing her hands together, to try and work in the remaining lotion on her hands. “Has something happened?”

The man before her suddenly looked nervous, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he ducked his head as if that would help him avoid her gaze. “No, everything is fine, I had just wanted...” he trailed off, the look almost tangible as he let his eyes wander from her bare feet, up the length of her body and back to her face. “Wanted.”

_Oh_ , she thought and felt her mouth go dry. “Oh,” she managed to get out. “Yes,” she said, stepping back to allow him in. “I was just,” she crossed the room and quickly snatched her dirty clothes off the floor and shoved them into the closest chest. Renna looked at Cullen, watched him pick up the jar of lotion sniff it.

“Ah,” he said, then closed his eyes, breathed in deeper. “This is what you always smell like.” Clasping her hands together behind her back she watched him. “I interrupted,” he said, looking at her. Renna wanted to squirm, though she had no idea why. _Because he is in your quarters_.

_That is stupid_ , she thought. _I was in his_ _tent_ _earlier. He fucked me senseless._

Yes, but she hadn’t stopped to look at anything in his tent and now, watching Cullen, still holding the jar of lotion in his hand, made her wish she had. “Vivienne,” she explained, gesturing to the jar in his hand. “She gave it to me.”

“Did she give you that nightshirt as well?” he asked and Renna felt her cheeks go pink.

“No, it… it isn’t, it was a gift from some Orlesian, along with a proposal of marriage.”

Cullen’s body went completely still. “Marriage?” he asked.

Renna let her hand drop to one side, gently caught at the gossamer fabric and lifted the hem a few inches. “Yes,” she told him, then began to make her way toward him, slowly. No one before had ever made her feel quite so unsteady, and wholly _wanted_ at the same time. “I sent a strong, but kindly worded refusal. The tunic was beautiful, too beautiful to just discard, but I wouldn’t want to be seen in public wearing a favor from a man I had no plans of ever so much as meeting, let alone marrying.” Tilting her head back she met Cullen’s heated gaze, the golden brown seeming much darker now.

“Were you done?” he asked, shifting the jar of lotion in his hand.

Renna waved a hand. “It’ll keep,” she told him.

He let his eyes shift from her to the jar and back again. “Take the tunic off.” Something in the way he said it, had Renna pressing her thighs together. The command of it. She’d never liked being told what to do, but this was entirely different. Because she knew pleasure would be at the end of his orders.

Her fingers played with the hem of it, inching it up higher. She wore nothing beneath it. Angling her head down, she peered up at him through her lashes as she dragged the fabric up over her hips. Cullen’s sharp inhale of breath had heat building in her womb. Renna tugged it up over her head, felt her hair slide free and tumble back down over her back and shoulders before she looked up at Cullen.

Reaching out, he took the tunic from her, crumpling the fabric into a fist. For a moment it had her wondering if he was jealous of the other man. Cullen tossed the tunic across the room and it landed in a heap on the floor. “I liked that tunic,” she told him, standing utterly naked before him as he looked her over and drank his fill. “It was soft, I’ve never owned anything so nice.” Ancestors knew she’d never wear anything like that out in public. Delicate things just weren’t for her.

“You won’t be needing it,” he told her, then jerked his chin toward the bed. “Lay down, on your stomach.”

Curious, she obeyed, crossing the room to stretch out, she curled one arm under her cheek and turned her head to watch him as he made his way toward her. He still held the jar in his hand and she heard the soft rattle of ceramic as he set it down on the window sill before sinking down on the edge of the bed. Renna watched Cullen bend over, then tug at the laces of his boots before pulling them off. They both landed with a solid thump on the wooden floor.

Then turning to her, Cullen’s fingers caught up in her hair, pushing it off her back before leaning down to press a tender kiss to her shoulder, the base of her neck, along her spine. Renna’s eyes slipped shut and she sighed in quiet pleasure. She felt him move over her, his thighs straddling her own. The rattle of the ceramic jar, and then – Renna let out a moan of absolute bliss as Cullen’s hands began to knead her shoulders.

The woman that lay on the bed beneath him, was not at all what Cullen would have expected. Eyes shut, lips parted, the occasional quiet moan escaping as he did his best to work the knots out of her strong back. A fierce warrior with the strength to take on demons and bandits alike, he’d seen her fight. But when she’d opened the door, dressed only in the elegant tunic, it had taken his breath.

The attraction was there, he thought her beautiful, but at that moment, he had been captivated. Hearing that the pretty garment was a gift from some Orlesian noble had caused a strange surge of jealousy that he’d never felt before. He had no claim on this woman. Their relationship was purely carnal. And if pretty gifts like the tunic were what Renna coveted, Cullen was at a loss. He couldn’t bestow expensive presents on her, but at the moment, she seemed happy enough.

Running his hands down her spine, then back up, over her shoulders and along her arms. She made that happy little sound again and Cullen leaned forward, pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck. “Oh,” she breathed, then reached up and back, slipping her fingers into his hair. “What brought this on?” Renna asked, her voice sounding drowsy.

_Possessive j_ _ealousy_ , Cullen thought, that he had no right to feel. The desire to give her something that those fancy nobles couldn’t. “You deserved some pampering,” he said instead, saw her mouth curve up into a smile. He slid his hand up once again, along the back of her neck and into her hair. This time her moan was louder and she arched her neck, pressing harder against his fingers.

“I won’t argue,” she mumbled melting into his touch. Cullen continued his ministrations, his mind on all the ways he wanted to take her, to taste her, until Renna was limp beneath him. When a soft snore reached his ears, Cullen glanced up. Renna’s eyes were shut, her lips parted and she was deep asleep. One part of his body, in particular, was greatly disappointed, though he ignored it as he carefully climbed off the bed. She didn’t stir and Cullen knew she must be exhausted from her travels.

Picking up the blanket that lay folded at the foot of the bed, Cullen spread it out over her and brushed a kiss over her temple before putting his boots back on and silently slipping out the door.


End file.
